Al Ain Amblers ‘thoroughly enjoying’ switch to league ahead of Nissan Cup clash with Harlequins

Keleto Dyer, the coach of Al Ain Amblers, has said even the most passionate purveyors of union in his side have been converted to the merits of the 13-a-side code after their debut in the Nissan Rugby League Cup.

Al Ain Amblers (black) are enjoying their switch to rugby league this season. Victor Besa for The National
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Keleto Dyer, the coach of Al Ain Amblers, has said even the most passionate purveyors of rugby union in his side have been converted to the merits of the 13-a-side code after their debut in the Nissan Rugby League Cup.

The side from the Garden City could book a place in a home cup final if they upset Abu Dhabi Harlequins at the Palm Sports Resort on Friday.

It will be a tough assignment, given that Harlequins are the defending champions and undefeated so far this time around.

Only two of the Amblers players had any experience of playing league before the new campaign kicked off on April 17. They are clearly getting the hang of it now, though, judging by the fact they put triple figures up in a rout of Dubai Sharks on Friday.

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“They have thoroughly enjoyed it,” Dyer said. “We have a couple of South African players. At the beginning they were anti-rugby league, but now they love it.

“They love it so much they watch a lot of it on TV now, then tell me we should do this play or that play. The attitude has shifted.

“The boys are beginning to understand how the game is played, the loss [to Xodus Wasps in the first round of matches] opened their eyes and they realised we can beat teams if we get it together.”

The turnaround in attitude towards the format is not the only thing to have changed markedly in Al Ain in recent times.

When the Rugby League Cup was last staged two years ago, Amblers were also-rans, finishing last in the four-team competition.

Now they are a side to be reckoned with. Their thrashing of the struggling Sharks in Abu Dhabi last weekend was the latest indicator that the side who crushed the opposition in the UAE Conference union season have outgrown the sport’s second tier.

The meeting with Quins, who are one of the leading clubs in union, too, will be a good barometer as to how far they have progressed.

“It depends on how we perform on the day, but I am sure we can match up [against Quins],” Dyer said.

“From watching their game against Wasps, there are some things we can do which can help us against Abu Dhabi.

“At the moment, they are at the top of the hierarchy. They are the ultimate. They have lots of gamebreakers and a lot of experience as well.”

Tony Scott, the Quins coach, said a win for his side is anything but a foregone conclusion, due to the absence of established forwards such as Phil Abraham and Iziq Foa’i.

“My biggest concern is [Al Ain] have some big forwards who can offload, so we need to work on dominating the ruck and wrapping the ball up,” Scott said.

“This is our final. It is a very different season to last time, where we pretty much cruised through and won the final by a big score.

“If we can beat Al Ain, we should get some players back and be good for the final.”

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